FEC backs Club for Growth complaint against centrist GOP group

The conservative Club for Growth won a complaint before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) this week, alleging a centrist Republican political fund inappropriately coordinated advertisements with a lawmaker the Club had targeted.

The FEC ruled that there was “reason to believe” the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC (RMSP-PAC) coordinated advertisements that resulted in excessive contributions to then-Rep. Joe Schwarz (R) in a 2006 Republican primary in Michigan’s 7th congressional district.

The Club had targeted the centrist Schwarz by supporting Tim Walberg, who knocked off Schwarz in the primary before going on to be elected to Congress. Walberg was subsequently defeated by now-Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) in the 2008 congressional elections.

The FEC, however, found that there was no reason to believe Schwarz himself helped coordinate the advertisements, or that the RMSP-PAC made expenditures on behalf of Schwarz’s campaign.

Both Schwarz and the Main Street PAC will have to pay civil penalties of $2,500.

The Club for Growth, which brought the complaint against RMSP-PAC, celebrated the victory on Wednesday.

“Main Street invited scrutiny after filing a frivolous FEC complaint against the Club,” said Executive Director David Keating. “If you’re going to file a complaint, you better be prepared to defend your own compliance with the law and Main Street had committed numerous violations.”